JULY 30 — Dr Mahathir Mohamad is one man with one dilemma too many.

From the “The Malay Dilemma” which was published in 1970, he created the New Malay Dilemma, and now he has shifted his target by creating his version of the Chinese dilemma.

While on one hand I think this man has a serious psychiatric problem that he should personally seek consultation, on the other hand I have made an attempt to research into the reasons why he has attempted to create one dilemma after another.

The Greek word for “dilemma” is δί-λημμα, which means a “double proposition”.

In short, it means a problem offering two possibilities, of which neither one is practically acceptable.

According to Wikipedia, the saying “Finding oneself impaled upon the horns of a dilemma” refers to the sharp points of a bull’s horns, equally uncomfortable (and dangerous).

Applied on the Malay majority, Dr Mahathir was able to make them feel insecure and uncomfortable with their social and economic standing, and by providing his own solution, he was able to control the minds of the Malays for the past four decades.

Political Survival

Knowing that he was born a Mamak, in my opinion Dr Mahathir had to find a way to control the minds of the majority for his own political survival.

His book “The Malay Dilemma” sought to talk about the influence of heredity and the environment on the Malay race, and in the process he was able to exploit the weaknesses and low self-esteem of the less-educated Malay community. Within less than a decade after he re-joined Umno in 1972, he rose to power and became the prime minister of Malaysia for 22 years.

This was despite the strong objection from people like Tunku Abdul Rahman. Even Tun Hussein Onn, who picked him as his deputy, had to censure Dr Mahathir, but nothing changed the fate of this Mamak because he had already controlled the minds of the majority.

The turning point for Umno happened in 1987 when Umno was deregistered. From thence, those who supported Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had taken on the original spirit of Umno when it was first founded by Datuk Onn Jaafar; hence, they were known as Semangat 46. Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir continued on with his new brand of Umno Baru, with all his yes men.

Earlier, around the same time, Operation Lallang was used to weaken the opposition, and mainly targeting at the DAP so that the DAP could no longer offer a challenge to a weakened Umno Baru. This was probably done also to prevent the formation of an effective coalition between Semangat 46, and other political parties not aligned to Umno. All sorts of excuses were created to justify the arrest of 106 leaders, which marked one of the darkest episodes of Malaysian history.

It was only after that that Dr Mahathir had a free hand to dismantle one pillar after another, which constitutes the democracy of this country. This one man was prepared to do anything just to remain in power.

This nation’s biggest mistake was to allow one man to have absolute power. So powerful was Dr Mahathir that he could even remove the special privileges of the Malay Rulers without being arrested for treason, simply because he had control over the people directly under him. Everything that he did, they were literally saying, “Yes, Sir! No, Sir! I mean, Yes, Sir!”

As time passed, and more Malay young people became educated, Dr Mahathir would have probably realised that the younger generation of Malaysians did not buy into his old idea any more. With the rise of Anwar Ibrahim, and the constant harping of cronyism and nepotism, the younger Malays realised that they were in fact not the beneficiaries of Dr Mahathir’s proposition. Only a small minority of Umno elites rose to the top, but when the Asian financial crisis hit in 1997/8, and the sacking of Anwar in 1998, the situation changed. And when he started hitting out at Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, I started seeing the evil of this man — that was, in fact, my turning point against him, and the Umno Baru that he had created!

New Malay Dilemma

Realising that his Malay dilemma could only work with the simple and less-educated Malay folks, Dr Mahathir had tried to create another version of the New Malay Dilemma.

However, looking at the voting pattern, in 1999 his brand of Umno Baru was totally rejected. With one leader after another — Musa Hitam, Tengku Razaleigh and now Anwar — trying to challenge Dr Mahathir, I believe the Malays were already fed up with him that they abandoned Umno and revived the spirit of the original Umno. They were looking for a leader, and finally they found the leader in Anwar.

Anwar’s imprisonment had not dampened the spirit of Malaysians against Mahathirism. First, the Malays were the only ones supporting Anwar when he was first arrested. Over time, the other communities also realised that this one man had spewed out too much venom into this country. When Anwar was acquitted by the High Court during Sodomy II, it was interesting to note that not only the Malays, but the Indians and the Chinese turned up in full force to support Anwar.

The formation of Pakatan Rakyat has also resulted in the victory won by the three major parties — PKR, the DAP and PAS. With Umno Baru being rejected by both the Malays and the Chinese, Dr Mahathir realised that his son’s future as the prime minister of Malaysia was not very promising; therefore, he has to work doubly hard to pit one community against another. This is probably what we are seeing — signs of Mahathirism back on the stage as he incessantly plays the racial card.

We have seen all sorts of baseless accusations — to the point of madness — being propagated by Dr Mahathir and his Umno warlords. Recently, out of the blue, the story of the DAP spending millions of dollars to fund a non-existent “Red Bean Army”. At the same time, we are told that PAS is infiltrated by the Shiites. Malaysians have to realise that these would be eventually used to justify the return of Mahathirism, but my fellow Malaysians, we have to be fully alert and stand united against the shadow of darkness.

Dr Mahathir’s Biggest Dilemma

Trying to create the Chinese dilemma, I am saying that Dr Mahathir has no answer for the Chinese community unless he now puts on a “sam foo” and declares he is a descendant from China. Based on the GE13 voting trend, the Chinese would not take his words anymore.

Frankly, I believe it is time for Dr Mahathir to taste his own bitter medicine.

His biggest dilemma now is that with Pakatan Rakyat in power in three states — Kelantan, Penang and Selangor — Malaysians from all walks of life are able to see what good government is about. Despite being the poorest state, Kelantan has paid up all its federal loans. Both Selangor and Penang are well-managed that now it is easy for us to see that Dr Mahathir’s wasteful ways are no longer “business as usual”.

The co-operation between the parties in Pakatan is also a show of multiracial Malaysians working together. There may be hiccups from time to time, the fact remains that the three major parties are beginning to work closely together. When the DAP was nearly deregistered at the eleventh hour during the last general election, it was PAS which came forward with the offer to the DAP to use its banner.

Anwar, on his rounds throughout the country, was able to attract thousands of people to listen to the ceramahs. I can hardly remember any point in time when Dr Mahathir gave a ceramah, and people were soaking in the rain to listen to him. A former Australian prime minister was right to call him recalcitrant, and Singapore’s former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew could not help but snub him.

Immediately after Dr Mahathir stepped down, Abdullah was able to bring together the various communities. In 2004, for the first time in the history of this country, Abdullah was able to garner the support of all Malaysians. Barisan Nasional was riding high on Abdullah’s crest until Dr Mahathir again came onto the scene and started whacking Abdullah. For the first time, in 2008, Malaysians voted against Barisan Nasional and Umno Baru. 

In the last general election where Pakatan Rakyat won 53 per cent of the popular vote compared to Barisan Nasional’s 47 per cent, Umno Baru and Barisan Nasional, which formed the federal government by virtue of the number of parliamentary seats won, are in fact a minority government. This is all a sign of the rakyat’s rejection of Umno Baru ala Dr Mahathir style.

This is Dr Mahathir’s biggest dilemma. He is already feeling uncomfortable because either way, he is not getting the support of the people any more. He will have to realise that after 56 years in power, BN is no longer the people’s choice — and certainly, not a tainted old man who has severed all ties with his own lineage by taking on his mother’s family tree instead.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.